MEET THE BOARD

The InFocus Scientific Advisory Board

The InFocus Scientific Advisory Board is comprised of the most proven and respected retina specialists.

Lawrence Singerman, MD

Chairman

After completing his retinal training at the Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute of Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Singerman established Retina Associates of Cleveland in 1974. With 8 other retinal specialists and over 130 employees, the practice sees patients throughout Northeastern Ohio. Dr. Singerman is active in the field of clinical research and has been a principal investigator in more than 100 multicenter clinical trials sponsored by NIH and pharmaceutical companies. Many of these studies of treatments for diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and other vitreoretinal diseases have led to FDA-approval of new drugs. He attributes his interest in research studies to the great opportunity he had to participate in the original Diabetic Retinopathy Study when he was a retinal fellow with Dr. Arnall Patz. The results of this study led to a dramatic worldwide reduction in blindness from diabetic retinopathy, inspiring Dr. Singerman to devote much of his professional effort to clinical trials. His research center has been a leading recruiter for such studies nationally and internationally.

Victor H. Gonzalez, MD

Board Member

Dr. Victor H. Gonzalez, founder of Valley Retina Institute in South Texas, is an American Board of Ophthalmology certified ophthalmologist. He is a fellowship trained retinal specialist with expertise in adult and pediatric diseases and surgery of the eye.Dr. Gonzalez received his Chemistry degree from Princeton University, a degree in medicine from Harvard Medical School, ophthalmology training at the Doheny Eye Institute in Los Angeles, California under the leadership of Steve Ryan and retinal training at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.

He presently serves as Adjunct Clinical Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio and is a member of the Clinical Faculty in the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Texas, Houston where his research focus is on genetic studies of diabetic retinopathy. Dr. Gonzalez has been a pioneer in the use of Anti-VEGF in diabetic retinopathy.

Sunil Gupta, MD

Board Member

Sunil Gupta, M.D. is a nationally recognized retinal surgeon, a successful entrepreneur, and a healthcare pioneer. He is founder and manager of one of the largest retinal research organizations in the United States, Retina Specialty Institute. His practice serves patients in 22 clinics across the Southeast with nine physicians.

Dr. Gupta works tirelessly to develop improved healthcare delivery systems built with LEAN methodology and cloud-based technologies. Dr. Gupta and his esteemed colleagues across multiple organizations are on a mission to revolutionize private practice data aggregation, to enhance productivity, and to build efficiency models inspired by Japanese manufacturing. Dr. Gupta thrives on bringing together stakeholders from across the healthcare and business landscape to solve complex challenges and deliver the triple aim of accessible, affordable, and quality patient care.

David Orth, MD

Board Member

David H. Orth, M.D., F.A.C.S., is a world-renowned retina specialist and the founder and president of Illinois Retina Associates, one of the most highly regarded retina practices in the United States. Dr. Orth broke new ground in the delivery of retina care when, in 1975, he opened a retina practice in downtown Chicago and in the village of Flossmoor, 30 miles south of Chicago. At the time, a highly specialized medical practice like retina was unheard of in the southern suburbs. But under Dr. Orth’s leadership, Illinois Retina Associates was established in 1981 and has flourished into one of the busiest, most respected retina practices in the nation.

Today, 13 board-certified specialists practice out of 12 Illinois Retina locations throughout Chicago’s suburbs and northwest Indiana. In addition to treating patients and guiding a thriving retina practice, Dr. Orth is an esteemed clinical researcher and educator. He is Professor of Ophthalmology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, where he co-founded the medical center’s highly sought-after vitreoretinal fellowship. He also serves as Medical Director of the Irwin Retina Center at Ingalls Memorial Hospital and Director of the hospital’s Ophthalmic Laser Laboratory.

Alan Franklin, MD

Board Member

Alan Franklin, MD, PhD, a board-certified ophthalmologist, brings a distinguished academic and professional background to Retina Specialty Institute as the co-founder and chief medical officer of RFE Pharma Company. Dr. Franklin’s educational experience began at Northwestern University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biomedical engineering and lettered in Varsity Track. He then attended the Medical College of Ohio where he received his Doctor of Medicine degree. Having a longstanding interest in diabetes, Dr. Franklin went on to earn a PhD degree in diabetes-related research at Vanderbilt University. He completed his first year in internal medicine at Vanderbilt while writing and defending his PhD thesis. He pursued the specialty of ophthalmology based his longstanding interests in taking care of diabetics and studies of diabetic eye disease, and fulfilled his residency at St. Louis University School of Medicine.

Brian Joondeph, MD

Board Member

Dr. Joondeph is a native of northern New Jersey. He completed his training as a retina surgeon in 1990 and since then has worked both in private practice and full-time academic ophthalmology. He has been in Denver since 2003 after returning from an academic position in New Zealand, which he returns to as a locum consultant several weeks per year. Dr. Joondeph has more than 60 publications and is a current and past investigator in over 80 clinical trials, looking at new and innovative treatments for a variety of retinal diseases. He works at the Lowry, Parker and Golden offices of CRA and attends a monthly outreach clinic in Goodland, KS.